Adjustable shower



July 11, 1961 H. G. MULLETT ET AL 2,991,943

ADJUSTABLE SHOWER Filed Feb. 5, 1959 ATTORNEY United States Patent2,991,943 ADJUSTABLE SHOWER Howard G. Mullett, Milwaukee, and James L.Sevedge, Wauwatosa, Wis., assignors to Bradley Washfountam Co.,Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Feb. 5, 1959, Ser. No.791,292

' 2 Claims. (Cl. 239-280) This invention relates to a multiple showerdevice and more particularly to an adjustable shower head assembly.

Heretofore, it has been the general practice to arrange shower heads sothat they were adjustable to various angles by bathers who mightplayfully direct the spray about the shower room or to fixedly set theshower heads at an angle which might be suitable for some users but notfor others.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a shower headassembly which may be fixedly set in anyone of various angles by themanager of the shower room, but which may be easily adjusted by him tosuit a certain number of users, thus preventing mischievous misalignmentof the shower head by playful personnel.

It is another object of this invention to provide a multiple showerhaving a plurality of shower head assemblies disposed about a centralcolumn and each adjustable to any one of several angles subject to thechoice of the attendant.

It is another object of this invention to provide a shower head assemblywhich may be adjusted to any one of various angles of shower projectionand including clamping elements not readily accessible to anyone takinga shower bath.

It is another object of this invention to provide an arrangement of theshower head assembly and supporting structure which will prevent playfulmisalinement of the shower head, may be adjusted by the shower roommanager according to his judgment, and will oiier little inducement toremoval by vandals.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention willappear from the following description.

the apparatus, rather than from below as shown in the drawing. Themanner of leading the supply pipes into the apparatus, however, does notplay a part of the inn i a-l 'A plurality of control handles are mountedon the exterior of the column '1 which operate associated valves withinthe mixing chamber 8. The lower handles 12 control the flow of hot waterto the mixing chamber and the upper handles 13 control the flow of coldwaterto the chamber 8. Details of the mixing chamber have not beenshown, as they do not play a part of the present invention. One of anumber of shower head supply tubes 14 is shown leading upward from themixing chamber 8 to an associated shower head assembly 15. Preferably,the tube 14 is of soft temper copper which is formed and annealed togive it the greatest flexibility, particularly at the upper curved end16 for reasons which will hereafter be apparent. The upper end 16extends into a recessed, or dished, capital 21 mounted on the upper endof the column 1. A reduced end 22 of the capital 21 is telescoped withinthe column 1 for securing the members together. a

A shower headassembly 15 joining the upper end of the tube 14 includes amain body 17 open through the center with a threaded flange 18 at oneend. The major portion of the body 17 comprises a threaded shank 19projecting through an elongated opening, or slot, 20 in In thedescription reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which forms apart hereof, and in which there is shown by way of illustration and notof limitation a specific form in which the invention may be embodied.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, illustrating amultiple shower device,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a shower headassembly,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 33 ofFIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section view taken on the line 4-4 ofFIG. 2.

The multiple shower device illustrated in FIG. 1 em bodies a tubularcolumn 1 having a flange 2 adjacent its lower end which serves as asupport on a drain fixture (not shown). Adjacent the lower end and abovethe flange 2, the column 1 is provided with a hand hole cover 3removably secured to the column by means of screws 5. Intermediate thetop and bottom of the column, a plurality of soap trays 6 are attachedthereto equidistantly about the circumference of the column.

The column 1 houses a hot and cold water mixing chamber 8 which issupplied with hot and cold water by means of pipes 9 and 10respectively. The pipes 9, 10 connect with their respective sources at apoint (not shown) beneath the hand hole cover 3. In some installationsthe incoming supply pipes connecting with the chamber 8 are introducedto the column 1 from above the overhanging bottom wall 32 of the capital21. The shank 19'is provided with a beveled end which is complementaryto a flared end 23 on the tube 14. A coupling nut 25 rotatable on thetube 14 is threaded on the shower body shank 19 and holds the flared end23 on the tube 14 in sealed relation to the beveled end of the shank 19.A shower head ring 26 is threaded on the flange 18 and retains aperforated disc 27 and screen 28, separated by a ring 29, in position onthe body 17 to break-up a stream of water coming from the mixing chamber8 into a uniform spray. The ring 29 not only spaces the disc 27 andscreen 28, but also forms a seal about the periphery of each toeliminate unwanted dripping. A set screw 30 retains the ring 26 againstrotation.

To complete the apparatus a cover 37 is fitted over the capital 21 tokeep the interior clean and to make more diflicult access to theinterior plumbing fixtures. The cover 37 has a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced screws 38 extending downwardly from theperiphery. Each screw 38 has a wing 39 attached thereto which may beturned to fit under the lip 40 of the capital 21, to hold the cover 37in place, or which may be turned to disengage from the lip 40 forremoval of the cover 37. A spacing washer 41 is provided on each screw38, as shown.

When the shower head assembly 15 is not anchored to the capital 21, itmay be adjusted longitudinally of the slot 20. Preferably the bottomwall 32 of the capital 21 is arcuately contoured in the longitudinaldirection of the slot 20 to conform to an arcuate path which the showerhead assembly 15 tends to define as the curved end 16 of the tube 14 isflexed during movement of the shank 19 in the slot 20. After theassembly 15 has been moved to a desired position, a lock nut 33 on theshank 19 is rotated and brought up tight to clamp the assembly againstmovement. A cover plate 34 conforming in contour to the bottom wall 32of the capital 21 is of sufiicient diameter to close the opening 20regardless of the position of the head 15 with reference thereto. Tworesilient washers 35 and 36, disposed respectively adjacent the nut 33and shank 19 are held in compression by the nut 33 and flange 18. Thebroken lines in FIG. 2 indicate two extreme positions in which theassembly 15 may be placed.

Although only one shower head assembly 15 has been shown, it will beunderstood that a plurality of them are provided in the capital 21spaced equidistantly about the axis of the column 1.,

From the foregoing it will be obvious that it would be diificult for abather to disturb the shower head assembly without the assistance ofproper tools and gaining access to interior of capital 21. Consequently,the custodian of the premises where the showers are installed will beresonably assured that he will not be called upon to realign the showerhead assemblies once they have been set in desired position. It will beobvious that arrangement of the shower head assembly and supportingcapital minimizes the possibility of vandalism. Also, theinventionprovides an adjustable shower head of refined construction in whichadjustment of position can be made without resort to complex rotatableball and socket joints, but rather a novel use is made of an annealedwater tube.

While it has not been shown, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art, that the area about the column 1 may be divided into a numberof showerhead assemblies mounted on the capital at the head of thecolumn.

We claim:

1. In a shower assembly the combination comprising a tubular uprightcolumn; a mixing chamber supported within said column with controlhandles mounted on the outside of said column; water supply meansconnected to said mixing chamber; an overhanging capital at the top ofsaid column with a downwardly facing bottom wall having an outwardlyarcuate contour and a radially elongated opening; an annealed Water tubeof limited flexibility rising upwardly within said column from saidmixing chamber and extending into said capital with a curved upper endthat turns downwardly toward said opening to present a discharge orificedirectly above said opening, such that radial movement of said dischargeorifice carries said orifice about a turning center substantiallycoincident with the radius of said arcuate contour; a shower head havinga shank attached to said orifice and extending through said opening anda flange disposed downwardly of said bottom wall adapted to be clampedagainst the undersurface of said bottom wall; a cover plate on saidshank disposed on the upper surface of said bottom wall contouredcomplementary to said bottom wall, said cover plate extending outwardlyof said opening at any position of said shower head and being adapted tobe clamped against said upper surface of said bottom wall; and lockingmeans disposed upwardly of said bottom wall to clamp said cover plateagainst said upper surface of said bottom wall and to clamp said flangeagainst said undersurface of said bottom wall.

2. In a shower assembly, the combination with an overhanging capitalportion having a downwardly facing bottom wall, said bottom wall havingan outwardly arcuate contour and a radially elongated opening, of awater tube of limited flexibility connected to a water supply means andextending from above said bottom wall to present a discharge orificedirectly above said opening, such that radial movement of said dischargeorifice carries said discharge orifice about a turning centersubstantially coincident with the radius of said arcuate contour; ashower head having a shank attached to said discharge orifice andextending through said opening and a flange disposed downwardly of saidbottom wall adapted to be clamped against the undersurface of saidbottom wall; a cover plate on said shank disposed on the upper surfaceof said bottom wall and contoured complementary to said bottom wall,said cover plate extending outwardly of said opening at any position ofsaid shower head and being adapted to be clamped against said uppersurface of said bottom wall; and locking means disposed upwardly of saidbottom Wall to clamp said cover plate against said upper surface of saidbottom wall and to clamp said flange against said undersurface of saidbottom wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,000,538 Mueller Aug. 15, 1911 1,541,725 Martin June 9, 1925 1,625,404Wagenseller Apr. 19, 1927 1,632,042 Price et al June 14, 1927 1,651,714Kern Dec. 6, 1927 1,730,455 Glauber Oct. 8, 1929 2,238,393 Mullett Apr.15, 1941 2,496,520 Daniel Feb. 7, 1950 2,690,930 Corson Oct. 5, 19542,697,839 Jackson Dec. 28, 1954 2,825,909 Morris Mar. 11, 1958 FOREIGNPATENTS 246,332 Germany Apr. 29, 1912

